Tips for visiting Kew Gardens with kids

My daughter’s first visit to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew came when she was a few weeks old – and I’ve now got over a decade of visiting Kew Gardens with kids behind me.

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Living nearby, she’s been back countless times as a toddler, pre-schooler and beyond, we’ve been to Kew during every season, to special exhibitions, the Children’s Garden playground and simply to get out of the house.

Because it’s a fantastic place to explore as a family and should definitely be on any list of London attractions with kids. I still wouldn’t say we’ve explored every corner and with new additions and reopenings in the gardens, there’s always something new to discover – so if you’re planning a family day out, here are my top tips for visiting Kew Gardens with kids.

Plan ahead

Kew Gardens are big – at 300 acres, I mean really big. Even as an adult, you’d struggle to tackle the whole botanic gardens in one visit, so it’s best to focus on a few key places – you can see the highlights if you click here.

You can also download a map before you go as well as picking one up at the entrance.

Whatever time of year you visit, there’s always something to see too – as well as constantly changing exhibitions and activities, there’s something different in bloom. Information boards by the entrances, including the Victoria and Elizabeth Gates usually have details although staff are around to offer tips as well.

Which gate at Kew Gardens?

There are four gates into Kew Gardens – the Victoria Gate is the main entrance with most ticket booths but also the biggest queues. The Brentford Gate is closer to the Children’s Garden playground and the car park.

The Lion Gate and the Elizabeth Gate tend to be quieter – the latter is relatively close to the Children’s Garden too, the former is a bit further from most main sights apart from the pagoda and Temperate House.

If you’re planning a full day and lots of exploring, you could start anywhere. If you’re visiting Kew Gardens with toddlers or younger kids, you might want to choose your gate carefully if you’ve got time only for a short visit or to avoid wearing them out just getting to your highlights.

Don’t take a scooter

As you’re planning your day out, it’s worth knowing that you can’t take scooters and bikes into Kew with kids – that includes micro-scooters, balance bikes, plus roller skates, skateboards, tricycles.

Basically if it has wheels (unless it’s a wheelchair or pushchair), you’ll need to leave it at the gates. There is space to lock them up but unless you’re using them to get to Kew Gardens, it’s best not to bring them at all.

If you want to see more than by walking alone, you can also take the Kew Explorer land train on its loop to explore. It’s an extra £6.50 for adults, £2.50 for kids (tickets available by the Victoria Gate, where the train starts). 

There are six stops and it runs from 11am – although that can change, so check at the gate – with the route taking around 40 minutes.

Your tickets are valid all day and you can get on and off at the different stops. It’s worth checking before you book as it’s sometimes out of service to be repaired.

There’s only limited room for folded buggies and pushchairs on board too.

Book tickets in advance

You can now get tickets at the gate but it’s a good plan to prebook during busy periods. You’ll also get the cheapest rate if you prebook tickets. 

Ordinarily if you book your tickets to Kew Gardens online instead of buying at the gate, you save at least a couple of pounds, and almost £5 during peak months – plus you can usually skip the queues, which is especially handy if you come in at the Victoria Gate.

Adult tickets cost from £17 off-peak if you book in advance (or £19 including gift aid donation), from £25 in advance during peak season (or £27.50 with gift aid). Children aged four to 15 cost £2 if you buy in advance, plus there are discounted tickets from £11 for adults if you visit after 4pm between May and September.

You can see the complete list of prices online here including concessions, and if you qualify for Universal Credit, there are also tickets available from £1 (proof required).

Membership to become a Friend of Kew costs from £81 per year including entry for one family guest, and you also get 10% off tickets if you have Historic Royal Palaces membership.

Book tickets for the children’s playground

The Children’s Garden, as the Kew Gardens play area is called, has been hugely popular since it first opened and you no longer need to book tickets to the children’s playground before you visit. 

Designed around the life of plants, each of the four areas is themed differently, so you can explore ‘air’, ‘water’, ‘sun’ and ‘earth’ – the water element is fun for splashing in, or you can hop over the stepping stones but bringing a change of clothes might be a good plan!

Aimed at kids aged two to 12, you’ll find everything from trampolines to climbing equipment, slides and a canopy walkway around a huge old tree.

You can come and go as often as you want until one hour before closing. Adults – for obvious reasons – can’t go into the Children’s Garden without a child.

Parking at Kew Gardens

Depending whether you visit at quiet times or on a busy day, you can find free parking at Kew Gardens – or end up driving around in frustrated circles. I’ve done both!

There’s also parking on the side streets at all times except 10am to noon on weekdays when it’s residents only – as long as you can find a space, of course – or on the roads closer to Kew Bridge, around a 10-minute walk away from the Victoria Gate. Again, the earlier you get there the better, especially at weekends.

The car park at Ferry Lane costs £10 for the day – Brentford Gate is the closest to this. The machines are currently credit cards only, and you can use contactless. The old overflow spots on the grass verges are now within the pay and display area.

The former free parking on the main road by the Lion Gate and Victoria Gate has been removed as there’s now a cycle path along the road, part of the council’s attempts to reduce the number of people driving to Kew Gardens.

There are also some paid parking spaces around Kew Green, using the RingGo app.

How else to get to Kew Gardens with kids?

The Kew Gardens tube station is on the Richmond branch of the District Line and the London Overground, and it’s only around a five minute walk from the Victoria Gate

Trains from Waterloo and Clapham Junction stop at Kew Bridge station, on the other side of Kew Bridge itself, which is around a 10 minute walk from the Elizabeth Gate.

You can also get various buses, including bus 65 which travels between Ealing and Kingston via Richmond, and which stops almost outside – it’s not always London’s fastest bus route though!

Where can I eat at Kew Gardens with kids?

If you bring your own food with you, you can eat pretty much anywhere, although you are asked to stick to grassy areas (and definitely don’t bring a barbecue).

It’s a fantastic place for a picnic – one of my favourite spots is along the Cedar Vista near the Woodland Glade where you can often spy peacocks, as well as the benches on the riverside walk looking out over the river, or by the lake and Palm House (usually joined by curious geese). But almost any corner works perfectly.

There are also several cafes and restaurants dotted around the gardens – the new Family Kitchen has some great pizzas and fun themed areas, and there are often pop-up stalls by the Orangery, as well as food inside.

The Victoria Gate café is also good for a snack and cake, although it can get busy. The old White Peaks cafe is now closed, with the Family Kitchen nearby having replaced it.

What are the best things to do at Kew Gardens with kids?

Currently the gardens themselves are completely open although some of the attractions within the grounds do close from time to time – for the latest list of what’s closed at Kew Gardens, click here.

The Children’s Garden

The Children’s Garden is easily the highlight if you’re visiting Kew Gardens with kids – and it really is an impressive play area. 

Designed for ages two to 12, there’s plenty for different ages depending how adventurous your kids are.

The areas are divided into the four themes of Earth, Water, Sun and Air with plenty of options to experiment, to get active and to play with more traditional equipment as well as quirkier options.

My daughter loved bouncing on the mini trampolines and some of the climbing equipment but also scrambling up and down a hill, which I’m fairly sure was just part of the landscaping, enjoying the colours in Sun, and taking to the slides and sandpits.

The water area also offers plenty of opportunities for kids to get absolutely soaked (intentionally or unintentionally!) when the water is running.

The old Climbers and Creepers soft play is now closed, replaced by the Family Kitchen restaurant

The Hive

The Hive is a fascinating installation, designed so that LED lights and the sounds you hear all change in response to a real hive elsewhere at Kew. 

It’s a full-on sensory experience as you walk inside, as well as helping older kids to learn a bit more about bees.

As well as marvelling at the geometric structure, there are information boards on different bees on the hillside, whose flowers are part of the installation attracting real insects.

The Treetop Walk

On the other side of Kew Gardens, the treetop walk is another fantastic one for kids, as long as they aren’t scared of heights. The sides are high enough that it’s safe for toddlers too. 

You can’t take buggies up, and they have to stay at the base of the structure, but there is a lift to the top as well as stairs (although this does close occasionall for maintenance).

Walking around in the canopy of the trees 18m above the ground has wonderful views, both across the gardens and out across London too – you can see as far as the Docklands on a clear day.

The Natural Area

This area of Kew, near the Thames and at the top of Syon Vista, was donated by Queen Victoria on the condition that the area remains in a wilder, untamed state.  

There’s a lovely woodland walk – perfect in Spring when you can see bluebells under the trees – as well as a great log trail, made from boughs, branches and trunks which have fallen naturally during storms.

Some are carved – judge for yourself if they’re crocodiles, dragons, snakes or sea monsters – and it’s huge fun to scamper, balance and hop across stumps and logs.

There’s also a giant picnic table and bug hotel, while this area is home to the giant badger sett, as well as Queen Charlotte’s cottage. Watch out for the carved wooden bear as you explore too.

The Great Pagoda

After a major restoration, you can now climb to the top of the Great Pagoda (ages five and above only).

It’s 253 steps with an extra charge – £4.50 for adults, £3 for kids and there’s a 30-minute timeslot for the tickets. Friends of Kew get a 10% discount.

It’s also worth checking that the pagoda is open before you go, as it does close during the winter months but also when it gets too hot.

Even if you don’t want to go above ground level, it’s fun to spot the dragons on the roofs, replacing the original 18th century ones.

The Palm House

A favourite option when it’s a cold day, the palm house is always tropically warm – though be prepared to carry everyone’s coats once you step into the humid surroundings. 

Inside, there’s the oldest pot plant in the world, the surprisingly named suicide palm and plants which were around when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

The waterlily house nearby is also fun to spot the floating lilies (currently closed and expected to reopen in 2027)

The Princess of Wales conservatory

The third largest glasshouse in the gardens (the recently reopened temperate house is the other in the trio), the Princess of Wales conservatory is also the newest. 

There’s another lily pond with fish here, as well as some carnivorous plants and cacti. It’s not as hot as the palm house, but still warmer than outdoors on a drizzly or cloudy day, and often has displays from the special exhibitions inside or nearby.

The Temperate House

Reopened after a major renovation project, the Temperate House is a lovely place for a stroll – packed with 10,000 individual plants, there are 1,500 species in total from Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific Islands.

As well as orchids and quirky Kaka Beak plants (which look just like brightly coloured bird beaks), you can find other eye-catching options like Golden Lotus banana, as well as a little waterfall splashing in the background.

The Rhododendron Dell

Although there’s less specifically to see here at the western edge of the gardens near the Thames, it’s a lovely walk especially when the rhododendrons are in bloom. Lots of twisty little paths weave through the bushes and it brings you to the riverside walk.

From here you can see Syon House across the river Thames and work your way back along Syon Vista or the Cedar Vista. There’s a point where you can look down both for some spectacular views.

And if your kids still need to burn off any energy, challenging them to a race along the open green space of the vista always goes down well. Probably because I can’t always beat my daughter any more!

Venture a bit further into the western corner from the two vistas and you can get to the Natural Area, including the woodland trail too.

Other highlights

There’s so much to see at Kew Gardens with kids that you’ll be hard pressed to fit it all into one visit – especially not if you’re exploring with younger kids.

But it’s well worth making a stop at the Japanese landscape near the Great Pagoda, with its beautiful rock gardens and peaceful atmosphere, as well as the bamboo garden by the Minka House

Walk around the lake where you’ll spot geese and often huge pine cones under the trees, and wander across the Sackler Crossing bridge for some lovely views.

There are some lovely grassy paths as well as the paved options, including Pagoda Vista, Syon Vista and Cedar Vista as another route through the gardens.

Closer to the Elizabeth Gate, you can stroll through the Kitchen Gardens – one area which often gets overlooked during a visit.

Special events and activities at Kew Gardens

There are always additional family activities and special events taking place in the gardens too, so check what extra trails are running before you visit as well as open-air theatre in the summer.

Easter usually has some great family-themed trails which have been themed around the Very Hungry Caterpillar book, Bluey, Horrible Science and inspired by the Beano – check out my review of Dennis and Gnasher’s Big Bonanza for one exampla. 

Over the years, there’s also been the Chihuly: Reflections on Nature trail of glass artworks, just as fascinating for younger visitors as older ones, while we’ve also seen Shaun the Sheep, discovered the world of spices and checked out Plantasia, to mention just a few.

There are also special events throughout the year – Christmas at Kew with the illuminated trail, usually runs on dates from November to January, while the newer Halloween light trail, Halloween at Kew is another family favourite.

It normally sells out quickly but if you book in time, there are sessions starting at 5pm, so it’s an option even with younger kids.

There are often child-friendly performances during the summer as well, including outdoor theatre.

So even if you’ve been countless times in countless seasons, you’ll quickly discover that you never run out of things to do at Kew Gardens with kids.

*first published 2020, updated 2026*

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